The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) officials have busted an illegal cyanide operation and seized eight drums of sodium cyanide at a small-scale mine in Nkroful, Western Region.

The swoop happened on May 20, 2026, during a compliance check by the Environmental Protection Authority at a grinding and vat leaching site run by the Nkroful Small Scale Mining Group.

Leading the team, EPA Deputy Director for Mining, Harrison Afful, said the operators were using sodium cyanide to extract gold without authorisation.

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Chemical residues were visible across the site, with some bags unlabelled and others marked “copper sulphate”.

“They have done vat leaching. They use sodium cyanide to leach the gold, so you could see residue of the chemicals that were used,” Afful stated.

He warned that the chemicals had been left exposed for a long time, with torn packaging raising the risk of runoff contaminating nearby water bodies when it rains.

“Sodium cyanide is very toxic and a lethal chemical. The smallest quantity that goes into the human body can cause death,” he said, adding that the substance must be evacuated immediately.

According to Afful, sodium cyanide is a controlled chemical in Ghana and cannot be sold on the open market.

Only licensed large-scale mines with an end-user permit are allowed to import and use it for mineral processing.

The site owner told the team he sourced the chemical from a town in Togo.

“Clearly, the source is illegal, and so we have confiscated eight drums of the product,” Afful said.

The EPA said the seizure was to stop further environmental damage and protect residents from health risks.

At another column leaching facility inspected the same day, the team also found unsafe practices that could harm the environment.

Afful urged miners to follow approved safety protocols and regularise their operations in line with Ghana’s mining and environmental laws.

NAD/BAI

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